Short one this week. Another hard stretch on my end and I want to spend the time I have on what actually matters. I did just get a post out on How to Read an Earnings Release so check that out if you want or need to learn more. It centers around two companies that released earnings this week. I just felt like the topic deserved its own post.
Before anything else, a quiet moment of respect. This weekend the news came in that two U.S. service members were killed in the Middle East and one more is missing. Two American families are grieving. That comes before markets.
1. Another rough week. Trust the process.
It was another rough week for stocks. All three major indexes finished lower and chip stocks continued to struggle. The Dow closed Friday at 52,146, the S&P 500 at 7,458, and the Nasdaq at 25,520. The Nasdaq took the worst of it and finished down more than one percent on Friday alone.
I want to be honest. I do not know exactly why the market was down as hard as it was to close the week. I have not had the time to study it the way I usually do. What I do know is this is the second week in a row where I had to trust the framework I built years ago and let it do its work while I focused on other things. That is what discipline is really for. Not to help you predict every market move. Just to hold the line when you cannot afford to pay attention at a detailed level.
The Iran story keeps going
Iran was in the news all week and it is still up in the air. The Strait of Hormuz question is still a mystery. I do not wake up having any idea what is going to happen. I just know that someday there will be an end. Until then, this is exactly what I have been writing about for two months. Headlines come. Headlines go. The market prices them in and back out again. The disciplined investor watches from a distance and stays diversified rather than trading on each new turn.
The Fed chair called AI the biggest story in the economy
On Tuesday, Kevin Warsh had his first congressional testimony as the head of the Federal Reserve. Most of the coverage focused on his pledge to defeat inflation. That was the big headline. But the line that stuck with me came from a different part of his remarks.
Warsh said that the most striking feature of the current economy is business investment, and that a huge part of that investment is going into data centers and AI-related equipment. Then he said something worth taking a closer look at. He said that what we now call AI investment will soon just be called investment.
Think about that for a second. It is interesting and telling. The Fed chair is telling us that AI is not a fad or a bubble to watch nervously. It is becoming the normal shape of how American companies invest. That is a big statement coming from someone whose job is to look at the whole economy and worry about it.
Buffett said the Alphabet call was his
On Wednesday, Warren Buffett confirmed in a CNBC interview that he personally initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s Alphabet position, not his successor Greg Abel. A lot of investors watch what Buffett buys. That is normal. But here is the part I want you to notice. He also said Alphabet is not among his favorite Berkshire holdings and that the massive AI capital spending is a real concern for him.
The lesson is not to run out and buy Alphabet because Buffett did. The lesson is how he thinks about it. He saw the story the whole market is seeing, bought in anyway, but named the risk out loud. He is not blindly bullish. He is careful. That is what a real investor sounds like.
That is enough for this week
Iran will keep unfolding. The market will keep processing it. The families of those service members will keep grieving regardless of what the S&P 500 does next week. All I can do is hang tight, keep praying for my son’s health, stay diversified, and trust the process. Some weeks that is the whole plan.
See you next Saturday.
Nothing here is personalized financial advice — just one person’s notes. The companies named are examples, not recommendations. Always do your own homework before you invest.
Weekly Notes — August 29, 2026